Symbolic tradesman "Joe" "The" "Plumber" is quitting the Republican party, according to Time magazine. His reasons for leaving include the GOP's obstructionism, anti-intellectualism, and crass unwillingness to provide viable alternatives to Democratic policies. Oops, wait, I have that wrong: He's outraged by overspending. This is an unfortunate blow for the Republicans, who cannot afford to lose unlicensed tradesmen who aren't actually named Joe-or anyone else, really-from their rapidly diminishing ranks.